The next day, Joel is at BOPE headquarters having a meeting with the other officers in command of the other battalions.

Colonel Oak announces to everyone, "You all know the priest is coming here and will stay in one of the favelas, but what you don't know is that he wants to sleep in the archbishop's house." He points to a place on the map of Rio de Janeiro. "In Morro do Turano." The other members of the meeting complain, but he simply responds, "It's up to us to guarantee his sweet dreams."

Joel indignantly asks, "Wait, let me get this straight, the priest not only wants to stay in the favela, but he also wants to stay in one of the spots in the middle of the war?! What the hell?! Turano's at war, and the priest wants to be right in the thick of it?! What the hell, Oak? Tell him I can pay for a hotel in Copacabana!"

The colonel replies tiredly, "Unfortunately, he doesn't want that. I've spent a month trying to convince the Secretary of Security, but not even God can change the priest's schedule. He's sleeping there, end of story. And there's more: we've got only seven days from today to try to pacify Turano. What we're going to do is daily incursions until the priest arrives."

The news of the short deadline irritates all the officers in the room, especially Joel. "Colonel, with all due respect, do you agree with daily incursions? Really? We're going to go up there at night, losing the element of surprise, under fire. There will be down, Colonel! Doing this once is already dangerous, but doing it for seven nights straight?! C'mon, Oak! And I'm injured, for God sake!"

The colonel assumes a stern tone. "Kujo! That's how it's going to be. The first operation starts tonight, am I clear?"

All the officers reluctantly nod.

Oak sighs. "Great. You're dismissed."

They leave the room, still clearly bothered by the short deadline and the fact that they'll have to carry out heavy daily incursions.


Joel goes to the bathroom to wash his face. He stares at the mirror, then punches the bathroom wall in anger, muttering to himself, "Damn it! This operation is going to be a disaster! There could be a ton of enemy Stand users up there! How can Oak be so stupid?!" He punches the wall again.

In the midst of his rage, Joel feels a hand caress the wound on his back, accompanied by a playful voice, "I thought I hurt you here last night, or am I mistaken?"

Joel quickly turns around and sees Daniela. He assumes a combat stance. "You?! What the hell are you doing here?! And how did you know where I was?!"

Daniela laughs and leans casually against the wall. "First thing first, I came to see how you're doing, and to talk a bit. Second thing, I've been following and watching you since you went home last night, JoJo. You should compliment me—it was really hard to avoid the sun while tracking you all the way here. I think I deserve a reward, don't you?"

Joel looks her up and down. She's wearing an oversized white t-shirt with a black skull, baggy black sweatpants, and black boots. "... Why are you wearing my clothes?"

She rolls her eyes, giving him a mocking look of irritation. "Oh, give me a break. You destroyed my clothes last night with that explosion. What did you expect me to do?"

Joel remembers and sighs. "... Fucking grief... fine, you can keep them. They were small anyway. Just don't sneak into my house again... But enough chitchat, what do you want from me?"

Daniela laughs and calmly says, "As I said last night, I liked you. Also, I have a few questions."

Joel rolls his eyes. "Of course you do."

She shrugs. "I'll go first." Suddenly, Daniela takes on a more serious and cold tone. "Please, tell me where that... star-shaped mark of yours came from."

He raises an eyebrow. "You mean—"

"I mean your star-shaped birthmark on the back of your shoulder," she interrupts sternly.

Joel is surprised and adopts a serious stance. "How do you know it's a birthmark? I mean, most people think it's a tattoo because of its shape and color."

"You know why I know, but if you want to be reminded, I can show you." She turns around and pulls off her shirt, revealing her back and the yellow star mark on her left shoulder.

Joel stares at Daniela's star mark. "... You have one too, huh?"

Daniela looks directly into Joel's eyes, her serious tone contrasting with her earlier lightheartedness. "That's exactly why I'm here. I got curious since we have the almost the same mark. I thought you might know something about it."

Joel thinks for a moment. "I don't know how it started, but before my mom told me that my dad had one just like mine in the same spot so I guess I inherited it from him."

Daniela's eyes widen, and she steps closer to Joel. She asks in a serious tone, "And who's your father?"

"... He's a pretty famous marine biologist, I think his name is Jotaro Kujo or something... but he was never part of my life, so... who cares."

Daniela looks at him, slowly calming down and regaining her playful tone. "Well, thanks for answering, JoJo."

Joel rolls his eyes. "You're really going to keep calling me that?"

She nods. "Exactly. And you're gonna enjoy it. Now, more questions." She moves closer and touches Joel's shoulder. "I hurt you pretty badly last night... and yet, your colonel is going to send you on daily raids in such a dangerous place like Turano? That almost makes me want to cry."

He steps back from the sudden contact. "... Did you come here just to mock me? Because if you did, let me tell you, I'm not weak enough to stop working just because of a few cuts."

She laughs, clearly entertained by the interaction. "Wow, such disregard for your injuries... but I can see deep down, you're filled with anger and pain, and you're struggling to stay on your feet... But I can help with your wounds."

Joel stares at her, irritated by the fact that she's right. After thinking for a few seconds, he sighs. "Damn it... alright, how can you help?"

Daniela steps closer, her eyes locked on Joel's, and smiles enigmatically. "I have abilities that go far, far beyond what you saw last night. I can heal your wounds completely as if they were just dirt that wipes away with a simple cloth." She leans in and whispers in Joel's ear, "But it'll come at a price."

Joel steps back, suspicious. "Yeah, I figured nothing's free, so tell me, what's the price?"

She laughs softly, shaking her head. "You're smart, JoJo. The price is simple: you owe me a favor. Not today, maybe not tomorrow, but at some point, I'll ask for something, and you won't be able to refuse."

Joel considers his options for a moment. He knows he needs to be at full strength for the raids, but the idea of being in debt to someone like Daniela deeply unsettles him. Still, he sees no other way. "Alright, we have a deal. But if you try to screw me over, I swear—"

Daniela interrupts, placing a finger on Joel's lips. "Shh, I know, I know. Now let's begin... take off your shirt."

Joel looks at Daniela with a mix of distrust and anger. Taking a deep breath, he decides to accept the strange offer. He removes his shirt, revealing his bandaged wounds on his back, chest, and left shoulder.

Daniela whistles as she assesses the situation. "Wow, those are really deep wounds, I did quite a job... But it's not like I can't do something about it." She gently places her hand over the wounds on Joel's back, and as if by magic, the injuries disappear.

Joel is incredulous as he watches the wounds vanish under her hands. Daniela's touch is surprisingly soft and soothing, but at the same time, it brings an increasing tension due to the peculiarity of the situation.

"How... how did you do that?" Joel asks, still processing what just happened.

Daniela smiles enigmatically. "I told you, I have abilities far beyond what you saw. Among them, the ability to heal wounds like these." She runs her hand over Joel's shoulder, making the injuries disappear.

Joel remains amazed as the wounds simply vanish. He's familiar with Stand abilities and has faced several Stand users, but Daniela's abilities are entirely different from anything he's ever encountered.

"What... what are you?"

Daniela smiles. "You're curious, Joel. You can make air punch me, and I'm the one who's different?" She laughs. "Well, you're not entirely wrong. I'm not human; I'm a vampire."

Joel's eyes widen in shock and surprise. He's seen and heard about countless Stand abilities, some that even mimic mythological creatures like mummies and zombies, but he never imagined there could be a Stand that imitated vampire powers, much less that vampires themselves actually exist. He quickly distances himself from Daniela, looking ather in shock.

"A vampire?! Like Dracula?!"

Daniela laughs and puts a finger on her chin thoughtfully "Well, not exactly... have you ever heard of the tales from a guy named Robert E.O. Speedwagon?"

Joel slowly calms down, realizing that if she wanted to attack, she would have already done so. He raises an eyebrow "Speedwagon? Like the Speedwagon Foundation? What does a medical research foundation have to do with this?"

She rolls her eyes. "Ugh, another uncultured idiot... no, I'm talking about the founder of that foundation. This guy, Robert, wrote some books telling fables about a certain 'Joestar family' and their bizarre adventures about a century ago. The books talk about 'Stone Masks' that turn people into vampires with very specific abilities. I thought they were just fables for entertainment, but guess what, I found out the hard way that the story was real."

She looks away with a certain sadness before returning to her normal tone. "I adopted the surname Brando because of one of the villains, Dio Brando, who was also a vampire."

Joel nods, understanding a bit more about Daniela "I see... well, considering all this, I have a proposal for you, but first, tell me: You need to drink blood, right?"

Daniela raises an eyebrow: "Uh... duh? I'm a vampire, I need blood."

Joel nods. "In that case... what would you say if I offered you... a blood sea to drink?"

Daniela's expression changes as curiosity arises — ... Go on.

"Listen carefully: Since you've been following me since last night, you're already aware of the priest situation, and you know that my team and I only have seven days to pacify the Morro do Turano. Even you must understand that this is inhumane, even for powerful Stand users like us, right?"

"Yes, but where are you going with this?"

"You're strong, very strong, and cunning, considering just the small conflict we had last night, and it would be very beneficial for me and my team if we had someone like you as an ally."

Daniela watched Joel with interest, pondering the proposal he had just made. Her eyes gleamed with a mix of curiosity and excitement "So, you want me to help with the priest's mission?" She laughs and thinks for a few seconds "Well, let's say I help and make the mission possible, what's in it for me? Where does the 'blood sea' come in?"

Joel smirks lightly. "Simple, you'll be able to drink the blood of every trafficker and criminal we take down, which means you'll have a huge feast without having to worry about retaliation for seven nights. Sounds like a good deal to you?"

Daniela observes Joel with interest, evaluating the sincerity behind his proposal. She had never considered joining a human group for any purpose beyond her own interests, but something about Joel's direct and challenging approach intrigues her. The opportunity for a feast is tempting, but she also considers the long-term implications of getting involved in such a complex human conflict.

After a moment of tense silence, Daniela breaks the impasse with a subtle smile. "You're brave, JoJo. Or completely insane. Maybe a little of both." she says as she puts her shirt back on, her tone mixing humor and admiration. "I could just kill you now and go my way, but where's the fun in that?"

Joel raises an eyebrow, not entirely surprised by her response. "So, is that a yes?"

Daniela shrugs nonchalantly. "Let's see if you can make this mission worth my while. But first," she approaches Joel gracefully, her eyes fixed on his. "We have a deal to seal."

Joel watches cautiously as she extends her hand. They shake hands firmly, sealing the pact that now binds them. He knows that from this moment on, he's in debt to Daniela, and she can call in the favor at any time.

"Let's see what we can do together. — Joel responds, trying to hide the tension he feels. He doesn't trust Daniela, but he knows that for now, they have a common goal that can unite their forces."

Daniela smiles, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Oh, JoJo, you won't regret it." she says, a tone of amusement in her voice. "Now, about that feast..."

Joel sighs, accepting that Daniela is now part of the team. "We'll see how the night unfolds. The operation starts tonight, so we'll be in action soon."

"Great... now mind to explain me something?"

Joel nods "Explain what?"

"You've been mentioning this 'Stand' thing... what it is? Is it an ability? How do I get it?"

Joel roll his eyes and sighs: "Basically, Stands are the manifestation of the person's soul. They can be anything, a humanoid creature, an ability, an object, an animal... anything. They usually give powerful or useful abilities depending on the user's soul. Only Stand users can see other Stands... mostly."

Daniela nods, understanding the concept of Stand. "Okay, that's all. Thanks, JoJo."

He roll his eyes and motions to her follow him, heading back to the team.

They leave the bathroom, and Joel leads her to the headquarters' center. Daniela looks at him with an enigmatic smile, determined to make the most of the opportunity the captain is providing, while he prepares to lead his team in a challenge that will test his skills and determination to the limit.

[TO BE CONTINUED]